Seconds setting mechanism for watches or clocks



Aug. 27, 1940. R, AYRES 2,212,535

SECONDS SETTING MECHANISM FOP. WATCHES 0R CLOCKS Filed June 1, 1937 INVENTOR PENN/E R- A YRES BY ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 27, 1940 SECONDS SETTING MECHANISM FOR WATCHES OR CLOCKS Pennie R. Ayres, Washington, D. 0.

Application June 1, 1937, Serial No. 145,808

3 Claims.

(Granted under the act of March 3, 1883, as

My inventionrelates to an improved seconds setting mechanism for clocks or watches controlled from the pendant end thereof. In the watches of the type here under consideration the time is indicated in hours, minutes and seconds. Such watches are commonly provided with a stem winding and settingmechanism controlled from the pendant end thereof which in one position of adjustment enables the setting, of the hour andminute hands to indicate the correct time. In carrying out the present invention I associate with any prior art winding and setting mechanism a mechanism whereby it becomes possible to efiect a setting of the second hand simultaneously with the setting of the hour and minute hands:

I am aware thatmany types of second hand setting mechanisms for watches have been proposed heretofore. They have, however, been either so complex in their structure as to be of little commercial value or have been decidedly impractical in their nature. Among the prior art arrangements it has been proposed-to effect a. setting of the second hand by arresting the movement of the seconds wheel, this'being accomplished by interposing in'its path of movement a stop member actuated by the stem winding and setting mechanism, This arrangement, however, has not proved to be practical. Escapement action is the very heart of a watch or clock and it should not be subjected to sudden stoppage by "arresting themovement of one of the train wheels. If this is done the momentum of the balance wheel will be unchecked resulting in a loosening of the roller jewel; and if too much pressure is brought to bear upon the roller jewel, due to the sudden removal of the power from the pallet action, the jewel may be fractured. Furthermore, releaseof the seconds wheel does not in all instances start the balance motion promptly, thus making it impossible to synchronize the watch with a standard time-piece. Finally, the prior art Structure has necessitated the use of a heavy setting lever spring with the result that it has b'eendifficult to hold the watch in a winding position against the action of the spring sleeve in the pendant thereof. v With a view to obviating the prior art deficiencies I have provided a seconds setting mechanism of great simplicity which may be incorporatedhin all types of pendant setting watches and which does notin any manner interfere with the appearance of the dial or case. The seconds setting mechanism is actuated and controlled by any of the conventional prior art stern winding,

amended April 30, 1928; 3'70 0. G. 757) hour and minute hand setting mechanisms and includes a pivotally mounted, spring biased member, one end of which is operable to obstruct the movement of the balance wheel during a setting operation. By directly arresting the movement =5 of the balance wheel during a setting operation any loosening or possible fracture of the roller jewel is eflectively eliminated. Furthermore, with this novel arrangement of parts no difiiculty is encountered in holding the watch movement 1 in a winding position; and the watch movement starts instantly upon release of the balance wheel thus permitting the synchronization of the watch with a standard time-piece.

In the light of the foregoing, it is among the several objects of my invention to provide a seconds setting mechanism of great simplicity for watches that is operable to obstruct the movement of the balance wheel during setting operations; and to provide a mechanism of the character described that will not adversely effect the operation of or damage the parts'of any watch movement with which it is associated.

' Other objects and many of the attendant advantages of this invention will be readily app'reciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when'considered in connection with the accom panying sheet of drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary plan View of one type of prior art watch movement in which the mechanism of my invention has been incorporated, all parts being shown in the setting position; and

Fig. 2 is a sectional View in elevation taken on the line 2--2 of Fig. 1.

Referring now to Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawing the reference character I denotes the main plate of the watch movement on which there is rotatedly mounted the longitudinally apertured arbor 2 by means of the bearings 3 and' l. The 40 winding pinion 5 is supported by the arbor 2 and rotates freely thereon, it being provided at one end thereof with clutch teeth 6 which are operable to engage' the complementary teeth I on the clutch 8. The lower and exterior portion of the arbor 2 is polygonal in shape so as to hold the clutch 8 in sliding but non-rotatable engagement. The clutch is provided at its loviter end with teeth 9 for engaging the hour and minute hand setting pinion (not shown) and is 60 annularly grooved at in intermediate its ends to receive one end of the clutch lever H.

A watch stem extends into and through the longitudinal aperture of the arbor 2 and includes the lower and upper portions identified respec tively by the reference characters I2 and I3. The lower portion I2 is apush pin which extends about three-quarters of the distance through the'arbor, its lower end always being in contact with the set-. ting lever I5 and its upper end abutting against the lower end 55 of the upper portion I3 of the stem. The upper portion I3 of the stem has a part I 6 which is polygonal in shape and is received by a polygonal recess of similar contour forming a part of the longitudinal aperture of the arbor Z. By this arrangement it is possible to impart rotary movement to the arbor whenever the crown (not shown) secured to the upper end of the stem I3 is rotated. A slotted spring sleeve I! is mounted by means of the threaded annular member E8 in the pendant of the watch case, a spherical portion I9 turned on the stem I3 being easily movable to a position within the spring sleeve I? or toa position exteriorly thereof. When the spherical portion I9 is housed within the spring sleeve I! as shown the watch movement is in a setting position; and when positioned exteriorly thereof the movement is in v a winding position. A shoulder 20 integral with the stem prevents pulling the upper portion I3 thereof completely out the watch case when setting the watch.

A setting lever I4 is pivotally mounted by the screw 22 or other convenient means on the main plate I ma recessed portion 23 thereof. One end of the setting lever as shownis always held in contact with the lower end of the push pin I2 by means of the setting lever spring 25' which bears against the pin 25 rigidly secured to the setting lever. Radial shoulder 26 on oneend of the setting lever Hi abuts against a pin 21 rigidly secured to the clutch lever II. A clutch lever spring 28 bears against a pin 29 secured to the clutch lever I I and tends to force the clutch lever in a clockwise direction.

The foregoing constitutes the stem winding and setting mechanism for windingthe timepiece and .setting'the hour and minute hands thereof. The mechanism is shown in its setting position wherein the teeth 9 on the lower end of the clutch 8 engage the setting pinion which is not shown. 'Whenit. is desired to place the ,mechanism in its winding position the stem portion I3 is pushed inwardly to remove the spherical portion I9 of. the stem from its position within the spring sleeve I! to a position exteriorly thereof. The movement of thestem portion I3 as aforesaid causes a simultaneous movement of the push pin 12 inwardly resulting in a counterclockwise movement of the setting lever I about its screw 22 and against the tension of the spring 24. The pin 21, by reason of its contact with the radial face 26 of the setting lever I4 and the action of the clutch lever spring 28 on the pin 29,

moves downwardly resulting in a clockwise movement of the clutch lever II. This clockwise movement causes the clutch 8 to shift longitudinally of the arbor 2 with attendant engagement of the clutch teeth 6 and I. The mechanism is now in'its winding position, any rotary movementof the stem I3 being transmitted to the winding pinion 5 through theclutch 8. If now the stem is pulled outwardly to the setting position shown in the drawing it is evident that the clockwise movement of the setting lever M will cause a counterclockwise movement of the clutch lever I I resulting in a' disengagement of the, v clutohiteeth 6 and. tandem engagement of the teethie.v of the clutch 8.with the hour and minute hand setting. pinion.

..movement serves to hold the pin 33 in contact with the setting lever 24 in all positions of the latter. It is to be carefully observed that the spring 35 is only of sufiicient strength to impart pivotal movement to the lever 3|. This is im- .portant since the additional force exerted by the spring 35 on the spring sleeve I! through the settinglever I4 and watch stem I3 is thereby rendered negligible with the result that no difficulty is encountered in maintaining the -winding and setting mechanism of the watch in a winding position. Although. the end of the lever 3I Which is intended to obstruct the movement of the balance wheel in a setting operation is shown provided with a stop pin .34 I do not desire to be restricted to this arrangement. It is evident that the balance wheel 30 might instead be provided with a stop pin operable to engage the lever 3 when it assumed'a setting position.

The watch movement is shown in a setting po sition the pin 3% of the lever 3I having entered dicate the proper hourand ;minute,. the minute hand, however, being set somewhatin advance of the time of the standard time-piece with which the watchis to be synchronizedq When the standard time-piece indicates the same time ,as that ofthe watch the stem I3 is pushedinwardly;

thus instantly allowing the balance wheel to lfe-f surne its oscillations and the watch movementto assume its normal operation. It will be-observed that as the stem l 3 is pushed inwardly the setting lever M moves in a counter-clockwise direction about its screw 22. Since the lever Mabutsat all times against the -pin 33 of the lever 3I this lever will likewise move in'a counter-clockwise direction about its pivotal support 32 thus moving the stop pin 3 from a position-of enga ment with the balancescrew 31 to a position where it no longer obstructs the movement-pf the balance wheel 39. Conversely, a pulling of the .stem outwardly permits a clockwise movement of the lever M from its windingpositiontothe; settingxposition shown in the drawing. Since the lever BI is biased intoengagement with the lever I4 by the spring 35 it will also move in a clockwise direction so that the pin 34; carried thereby may obstruct and arrest the movement of the balance wheel 30. Since the spring 3 5 is only of sufhcient strength to impart pivotal movement to the lever .3! it is evident that the. balance wheel 3E3 cannot be damaged.

By arresting and obstructing the movement-of the balance wheel 30 there is no possibilityrpf damaging any part of the watch'movement; and;

the movement furthermore startsinstantly upon ill ting position. If instead, however, the movement of the fourth wheel of the train or the seconds wheel 39 is arrested not only will the watch movement fail to start instantly but also the roller jewel 40 may be loosened or fractured. This may be made clear from an examination of the drawing. If the movement of the seconds wheel 39 is arrested during a setting operation its obstruction may take place when the balance wheel 30 is on a return trip. The power being suddenly removed permits the safety or guard pin M' carried by the pallet fork 42 to wedge against the side of the roller table 43 supported by the arbor of the balance wheel and carrying the roller jewel 4D. This wedging action results in a delayed starting of the watch movement if it starts at all and thus prevents a synchronization of the watch with a standard timepiece. Again the sudden stopping of the seconds wheel 39 may occur just as the roller jewel 40 enters the horns of the pallet fork 42 or just prior thereto thus permitting the pallet fork to swing at will with the momentum of the balance wheel 30 unchecked. This action results either in a loosening of the roller jewel 40 or in a fracture of the jewel itself which may be costly.

According to the provisions of the patent statutes I have set forth the principle and mode of operation of my invention and have illustrated and described what I now consider to represent its best embodiment. However, I desire to have it understood that within the scope of the appended claims the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described.

The invention herein described and claimed may be used and/or manufactured by or for the Government of the United States of America for governmental purposes without the payment of any royalties thereon or therefor.

I claim:

1. In a watch movement, a stem, a setting lever which in all of its positions is in contact with said stem, a balance wheel, a, pivotally mounted member for arresting the movement of the balance wheel, one end of said member contacting the setting lever and the other end thereof being adapted to arrest the movement of the balance wheel when the watch movement is in a setting position, and resilient means for keeping the first mentioned end of said member in contact with the setting lever, said means having only sufficient strength to impart pivotal movement to the member.

2. In a watch movement, a stem, a setting lever which in all of its positions is in contact with said stem, a balance wheel provided with peripheral screws, a pivotally mounted member for arresting the movement of the balance wheel, said member having at one end thereof a pin which contacts the setting lever and at the other end thereof a pin which is adapted to be positioned in the path of movement of the peripheral screws on the balance wheel when the watch movement is in a setting position, and resilient means for keeping the first mentioned pin of the member in contact with the setting lever, said means having only sufiicient strength to impart pivotal movement to the member.

3. In a watch movement, a winding and setting mechanism, a balance wheel and a mechanism for arresting the movement of said balance wheel during a, setting operation, the said last mentioned mechanism mounted non-resilient member for arresting the movement of the balance wheel, one end of said member contacting the winding and setting mechanism and the other end thereof being adapted to arrest the movement of the balance wheel when the watch movement is in a setting position, and resilient means for keeping the first mentioned end of said member in contact with the winding and setting mechanism, said means slidably engaging said member and having only sufiicient strength to impart pivotal movement thereto.

PENNIE R. AYRES.

including a pivotally 

